


Where there's tears, there's hope

by Rae_Saxon



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: And I don't mean the sex, Angst, Because he IS the Master of cheesy puns, But Darkness never prevails, F/M, Gentle Sex, Hurt and comfort, Mostly the Master's, Oh and cybermen watching, Suicidal Time Lords are suicidal, also, cheesy puns, eh?, good tags, happy end, soft Master - Freeform, soft doctor, that too, though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:20:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23362354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rae_Saxon/pseuds/Rae_Saxon
Summary: "You and me, Matrix chamber, no one else. One last time."They both know it has to end here. They both know the Doctor will do it. So it's one last dance, to say goodbye to life, to each other. Or... well... one last fuck, in their case. | Set during Timeless Children. Working through some issues here.
Relationships: The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 148





	Where there's tears, there's hope

“ _You and me, Matrix chamber. No one else. One last time.”_

It wasn't fair. How her words made his hearts race in wild hope and affection. How little he could resist her, could resist walking straight into her trap, knowingly, willingly, excitedly.

He needed her. Every bit of attention, every second of her eyes on him, he just needed it like air to breathe.

And she cared about him so little, it ached.

He waited, then, his Cyber army around, as he knew he had to, because she wouldn't come to him without an ace up her sleeve.

She never did.

And there she was, the death particle clutched in her hands, a neat little detonator attached to it now.

Of course.

He had known she would use it, at least as a threat, one they both knew she would hate to go through with.

Not because of him, but because what destroying Gallifrey had done to her the last time she had seen no other way.

“ _They_ weren't invited,” she commented without real surprise in her voice.

The Master put on a grin.

“Like you don't enjoy the audience.”

He could see her beautiful mind spinning in circles, work through his words, read it all from her face, his grin spreading.

“Fine,” she finally replied and the Master's fake grin turned into a genuine one.

His one last time.

“That's more like it, Doctor. Now, why don't you kneel down in the ashes of our planet, hm? In front of our people's walking corpses, Doctor... _kneel_.”

He could see her tense and hesitate, could see the disgust clear on her face, but this time, it wasn't aimed at him and the Master waited patiently. Until she finally put it all aside, nothing but beautiful devotion left in her eyes, and sank to her knees gracefully.

“Very good...,” the Master's grin broadened and he stepped closer, circling her slowly. “Say my name, Doctor.”

God, the way she looked up at him when he stopped in front of her. This was different than the time before in the gallery – Her eyes were glowing with a delicious mix of shame and desire and he soaked it all up, feeling a powerful wave of arousal surging through him.

“Master.”

His grin turned into a soft smile without him even noticing. Like he had before, he sank down to his own knees before her, but this time he raised his hands, holding her face between them, running his thumb over her cheek tenderly.

“You're beautiful.”

He rested his forehead against hers and they both sighed at the sensation of hundreds of thoughts and emotions intertwining, growing, mutating, _connecting_.

“Your sense of beauty has always been pretty warped,” she finally whispered, raising her shaking hands slightly into the Master's view. He sighed when he saw the detonator still clutched carefully inside of them, her knuckles white from the effort.

“Tell me Doctor... could you do it? Killing the both of us? Make this our last dance?”

“Why not?” she replied, sounding tired. “Look at the both of us. There's nothing left of us anymore.”

“I always wondered,” the Master replied, his eyes glued to the detonator thoughtfully, “how it'd end. I suppose this is it, then?”

“This is it,” she agreed. “Our last dance.”

“Then let's make it a good one,” he growled, his hands wandering up to her hair, clawing at it, pulling her towards him. Before she knew what was happening, his teeth were nibbling at her lips and then they clashed together, moaning into each other's mouths the desperate moans of a dying species thrashing on their death bed.

“You really want to do this here?” the Doctor finally asked breathlessly, eyes roaming over the Cyberman army around them and the Master chuckled.

“It's not like they care. I'm not even sure they would've cared before I was done with them. You know how they were, dusty old fools.”

She looked sad, for a moment, as she contemplated them.

“The universe is better off without us,” she finally whispered.

The Master rolled his eyes and let his hands wander underneath her shirt. She let her head tilt to the side as he cupped her breasts, twisted her nipples painfully, before finally letting her braces fall down and pulling the shirt over her head.

“Who cares,” he hissed. “The universe never bothered about us, did it?”

He kissed her again, just to smother her reply, because he wasn't sure he could bear it, couldn't bear to hear about all the things it had done for _her_ , all the wonders and friends she had found. Not another foot above him, not now, not here.

It was all going to end soon. He just had to make her shut up a little bit longer.

Her bare breasts pressed against his shirt and he grinned as she began to tear at it, and helpfully let his coat fall do the dirt - what did it matter, now, oh what did it matter - , spread it out beneath them before pushing her back down onto it, letting his eyes roam over her with dark lust.

“Beautiful,” he breathed again, and she rolled her eyes.

“Overdressed.”

“You're right, you rather are, aren't you?” he grinned, before climbing over her, placing soft, gentle kisses onto her neck, before turning them into something longer, more painful. Leaving marks seemed redundant, now, with no one to ever see them, with nothing left of them soon, but he still liked doing it. She'd die with a part of her marked as his. It seemed terribly right, maybe the only right thing left in this universe.

His fingers wandered down between them, opening her trousers and pulling them down. He pressed against his hand immediately, needy little gasps escaping her and the Master thought that, _yes_ , this was the way to go.

He could feel how soaked she was even through her panties, grinning far too smugly for a dead man walking, and let his hand wander in, teasingly ran it through her folds, then up again, over her stomach, letting her feel how wet she was.

The Doctor threw her head back, whimpering, her back still arched.

“Please...”

“Excuse me love, what was that?”

Her eyes sprang open and she looked at him, eyes darkened and lips trembling and he thought she had never been more beautiful than in this moment.

“Drop the theatrics, will you? We might as well be honest with each other now.”

The smug grin fell of his face, dead in an instant.

“Fine,” he spit back, but his hearts weren't quite in it, this time. She was right. He knew she was right. It was their last chance to be. And no one would live to tell the tale.

He leant down, his hand back in her pants, dragging them down slowly, just far enough for his fingers to slip in. One first, then two, then three and her head fell back down, eyes rolling upwards as she moaned and moved back against his hand.

“Everything you want,” he whispered, because it was true, and suddenly his hearts ached, suddenly he needed her to know before they both died, just that once. “Everything.”

She raised her free hand – the other was still clutching the detonator and he wondered if he could make her activate it in the throes of an orgasm, wondered if she would be petty enough to activate it before he finished, wondered so many things in that split second, before she pulled him down to her mouth by his hair, kissing him hard, kissing away every thought.

“You,” she gasped between kisses. “I just want you, so get on with it.”

He laughed, hoarsely.

“Excuse me for dragging our last minutes out.”

But he still complied, still shifted above her, got rid of his trousers as fast as he could, before lining up at her entrance and letting out a shuddering moan as he pushed in, echoed by her own, her eyes falling shut again. Suddenly, he couldn't bear it, he just couldn't.

“No, no, look at me, look at me.”

Her eyes sprung open and there were tears, actual, sweet tears. He leant forwards, kissing her temples, kissing her cheeks, kissing the tears away as they fell, lips as tender as his thrusts and this was far, so far from the rough fuck he had expected, had planned for. This was making love and her eyes were so full of it, he had swallow down his own tears.

They would die together, he thought, forcing his eyes to stay open as he moved on top of her, inside of her, and pleasure rolled through him, making him shudder, just as he felt her shudder beneath him. No need to worry about living without her, no need to worry about extinguishing the love in these eyes, because they would... die... together...

Her eyes fell shut when she came around him and this time, he let them, watched her face tense beneath him as he placed a gentle, loving kiss right beneath her lips, in the crook of her chin as he came after her, feeling relef and panic flood through him in a rather strange mix of adrenaline. He let his hand wander to the side, carefully, cautiously, until his fingers closed around the detonator.

He could end it all now. He had the power.

Or he could let her do it, win one last battle, bring her down to his level right before death.

But his hearts ached.

“Tell me you don't want to die,” he whispered, so quietly, he was almost sure she hadn't heard him, but she opened her eyes in confusion, clenching her fist a little too late, found only his own on the palm of her hand, clutching the detonator now.

She blinked.

“Do I have to?”

“Honest, Doctor. That's what you wanted. So tell me. Do you want to die?”

She looked at him, then and the fact she had to think about it hurt more than anything else, today, but finally, slowly, she shook her head.

It was all he needed.

“Then run.”

“What?” she spluttered. “... But...”

“ _Run_ ,” he called again. “I'm in control now, see? It's the only thing you can do. Run!”

He climbed off her, holding the detonator, and she swiftly put on her clothes again, his come running down her legs, bite marks darkening on her neck and turned to look at him one last time, half-naked, holding the key to end them both.

“Don't do it,” she said, her voice trembling, then she grabbed her coat and started running. He watched after her until she had disappeared from his view, shivering slightly.

Slowly, he started dressing himself again, decided to leave the ruined coat behind, as it was now covered in fluids, then turned towards his newly built Cybermaster race, still standing in line, still waiting for instructions, completely unimpressed by what they had just witnessed.

“ _Don't do it,_ ” he heard her again, in his head, begging almost, pleading now and he wondered, distantly, if it was a memory or real, if he just wished for it so hard, his mind had begun to tell him that it _was_ real.

“ _No universe could ever be better off without you,_ ” he promised, sent it straight into her mind, because why not be honest a little while longer.

And then his eyes met... He honestly couldn't tell who it had been, before he had converted them. He had been in a haze, hadn't even paid attention to which bodies he had offered for slaughter. And why shouldn't he have?

But something wasn't right, because that Cyberman was looking at him, _seeing_ him, and then, slowly, raised his hand towards him.

The Master swallowed, the detonator heavy in his hand, and made a decision.

The Doctor felt sick when she heard the explosion, but none of her friends seemed to think she was more shaken up than usual. They were far too concentrated on wondering if this had stopped the ongoing invasion, far too focused on getting everyone safe into the TARDIS and away from the ruins that had once been her home.

They were right, of course, but the Doctor couldn't help the tears she had to blink away, couldn't help but raise her fingers to the bite mark on her neck, needing to feel the pain a little bit longer, needed it to distract her from the actual pain she was feeling right now.

It felt like someone had ripped a hole into her hearts. Painful and too sudden to have it heal ever again. She just stood there, her whole body trembling, and tried to process life without the Master, truly, honestly, for the first time.

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head, slowly at first, then more determined. “No.”

She wasn't going to let this happen. This wasn't happening. She was going back in time. Saving him. Stopping him. He hadn't just... just sacrificed... hadn't just... What had he done? God, this was so twisted, so convoluted, she could barely tell anymore. Had he wanted to die so badly? Had he wanted to rid this universe of himself, her of himself, had he thought...?

She should've said more. Should've said _something_.

His last words to her still echoed in her mind and her knees gave out. She heard her friends calling out for her and then sank into the void, relieved when it rolled over her.

“Can't believe I'm almost dying in an explosion and _you're_ the one passing out,” the Master greeted her when she came back to herself.

The Doctor's mouth fell open.

“You're alright...? But... But...”

“Told you...,” he whispered. “Everything you want.”

She looked around panicked, as if expecting to see the ruins of Gallifrey around her, along with a few blown up body parts of him, rather than her little TARDIS bedroom he had sneaked into.

He rolled his eyes.

“One of.... _them_ pressed the button. Don't ask. I couldn't tell you. I... ran.”

They looked at each other, really looked, and for a minute, the Doctor was too stunned to speak or move. Then she jumped out of her bed and fell into his arms, kissing every inch of skin she could reach and the Master, laughing, let her.

“I couldn't... I don't... Look at me, Doctor, please, just for a second.”

She tore herself off him, looking at him with wide, teary eyes and he gave her a sad little smile.

“If there's... any part of you in there, thinking I'm worth... worth saving, I'll try. I will. But I can't do it without you, Doctor. Look where it almost brought us... What we've almost become.”

She just wrapped his arms around his neck, lips hovering before his, foreheads leaning against one another, and smiled.

“I'm right here. I'm here. With you. And we'll be okay,” she whispered. “Didn't you know? Where there's tears, there's hope.”

The Master frowned.

“There is? I thought where there's tears, there's pain or something.”

She laughed.

“Pain means we feel. Pain means we're alive. Pain means we have something to lose. And something to lose means we have something to live for. And if it's just each other.”

“You don't hate me, then?” he asked, sounding like a little child and she kissed his temple, before pulling him back into her arms.

“I have never hated anyone more than you,” she promised and he tore himself from her arms as soon as the words sunk in, looking so scandalised, she had to laugh again.

“I also have never loved anymore more than you,” she giggled. “And I never will. Promise. We'll... uhm... work on the rest.”

“So I can...” he looked around, looking unsure. “Stay?”

She shrugged.

“Yeah. But no explosions,” she raised a finger at him and he gasped.

“What not... even little ones?”

“And no Cyber-armies.”

“They all blew up, don't worry.”

“No shrinking.”

“But... my TCE can be a very useful tool! You never take anything to defend yourself with!”

“No killing.”

“Oh, you're one to talk!”

She stepped closer to him, kissing him softly.

“Lots of this in return. Come on, isn't it worth it?”

He blinked down on her, looking slightly appeased.

“Bit full of yourself, aren't you, Doctor?”

“Learned from the best,” she grinned back, right before he spun her around and threw her onto her bed, a wide grin on his face as he climbed back on top of her. Maybe he could even distract her enough to make her forget that he hadn't agreed to a single of her conditions yet.

“Well then, time to show you how full you can be of _me_.”


End file.
